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Everybody’s looking to “go green” these days. Planes, trains, and automobiles are all looking for sustainable sources of energy to keep us moving, while scientists and researchers everywhere are searching for the next breakthrough in ways to harness the forces of nature with wind turbines, hydroelectric energy and solar panels. Simply put, it’s a hot topic and it’s getting hotter. There are a lot of good reasons for fervor—rising energy costs, finite and diminishing amounts of petroleum and other fossil fuels, and the ever-increasing scrutiny of pollution’s effect on the environment, to name a few. There are a few things we can all agree on: no one wants to breathe dirty air, or drink contaminated water, or pay thousands upon thousands of dollars in fuel costs just to get to work. Here in Utah, we have our own environmental challenges. Air pollution and energy are topics that affect everyone, not just large corporations and industries. When it comes to what we, as individuals, can do to make a difference, we often feel that environmental issues get addressed on the larger scale—in state and national capitol buildings—not in smaller local arenas. But that’s just not true.
THE AIR UP THERE
Let’s take air quality, for example. In Utah, we have a unique set of circumstances that makes us especially prone to inversion. What is inversion, you ask? Inversion, or temperature inversion, occurs when a warmer and less dense mass of air moves over a colder, denser mass of air. This creates a non-circulating layer that can trap pollutants in the air, resulting in a smoggy, irritating haze. Furthermore, during the summer and winter months, when inversion is most common in Utah, we get very few crosswinds that would help to clear the air. All of these factors combine to awful effect, making life miserable for some who are especially sensitive to bad air. Research shows that people with chronic lung and heart disease, such as asthma or chronic allergies, cardiopulmonary disorder or heart failure, are at an especially high risk for aggravating their disease. Air pollution can even increase the risk of heart attack. So, what’s being done to combat bad air quality?
THE SMALLER SCALE
Groups like the Utah Clean Air Partnership (UCAIR) are working hard to make a real difference by acting as a “go-between” for policy makers and their constituents, facilitating important and needed legislation, while also trying to cushion the blow in the event that legislation may have adverse effects on industry. “Our mission is to educate, provide grants and loans and build partnerships with other groups to provide better air quality,” says Ted Wilson, director of UCAIR and former mayor of Salt Lake City. When describing what the average person can do to make a big difference, Wilson says, “It starts with what you do everyday.
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HEALTHY UTAH APRIL 2014
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